video: the building of olafur eliasson's waterfall at versailles

olafur eliasson has released a new video documenting the construction of his ‘waterfall’ — a dramatic vertical flow of water that cascades into the grand canal at the palace of versailles. at the beginning of june, an exhibition of eliasson’s work opened at the french landmark, with fog installations, mirrored sculptures, and light landscapes sited around the gardens and château interior. now, coinciding with the exhibition’s closing on october 30, the danish-icelandic artist has marked the show’s final week with a dramatic and climatic film that looks at the building of the ‘waterfall’ and its structural characteristics from an alternate perspective.

the film looks at the building of ‘waterfall’ and its structural characteristics

this ‘waterfall’ at versailles continues one of eliasson‘s most significant projects of his oeuvre. the towering piece, built from a series of stacked structural components, has been positioned on the central axis of the garden. a surge of water rushes down from a soaring crane above the landscape, revealed as a carefully constructed sequence of segments. the installation subtly pays homage to louis XIV’s landscape architect andre le notre, and his unrealized vision of creating a waterfall in the palace’s gardens.

the release of the video coincides with the exhibition’s closing on october 30

‘I use fog and water to amplify the feelings of impermanence and transformation,’ eliasson says. ‘the artworks liquefy the formal design of the gardens while reviving one of landscape architect andré le notre’s original, unrealized visions: the placement of a waterfall in the grand canal. this waterfall reinvigorates the engineering ingenuity of the past. it is as constructed as the court was, and I’ve left the construction open for all to see – a seemingly foreign element that expands the scope of human imagination.’

this ‘waterfall’ at versailles continues one of eliasson’s most significant projects of his oeuvre